A K2 Airways Boeing 737-400 cargo plane carrying five crew members vanished from radar near Karachi on Tuesday night, prompting a large-scale search and rescue operation in the Arabian Sea. The aircraft, registration AP-BOI, lost contact with air traffic control at approximately 21:21 Pakistan time while en route from Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, to Karachi.
Rapid Descent and Loss of Contact
According to Flightradar24 tracking data, the plane exhibited erratic flight behavior before disappearing. It descended about 5,000 feet in less than a minute, then surged back 6,000 feet in 30 seconds, followed by a dive from 36,550 feet. The last transmitted data point showed the aircraft at 1,100 feet above sea level with a vertical rate of minus 22,400 feet per minute—an extremely steep and abnormal rate of descent equivalent to about 400 kilometers per hour.
Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority confirmed that search and rescue teams have been deployed to the Arabian Sea. The cause of the incident has not yet been established.
Expert Reactions
Anthony Brickhouse, an aerospace safety consultant, told media: "Anytime you see something extreme like that, it catches your eye, but it is too soon to say what any of it means without more information."
Aviation expert Imran Aslam told ARY News that even an engine failure would normally allow a plane to glide rather than plunge suddenly. "I still cannot understand how the plane went down so abruptly instead of gliding," he said.
Aircraft and Crew Details
The missing Boeing 737-400 is a decades-old aircraft, first delivered as a passenger plane to Russia's Aeroflot in 1999. It was converted to a freighter in 2012 and entered service with K2 Airways in 2024. K2 Airways operates only this single aircraft.
K2 Airways released a statement naming the five crew members: Mohammad Rizwan Idrees (Pilot in Command), Faisal Mehmood (First Officer), Muhammad Toufique Khan (Load Master), Arif Siddiqui (Engineer), and Mohammad Hamid (Engineer). The statement said: "Search and rescue operations are being conducted by the concerned organisations. K2 Airways is fully cooperating with the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority and other government agencies. We continue to pray, earnestly, for the safety of our colleagues."
Search Operations and Official Response
A coordinated search-and-rescue operation at sea involving multiple agencies is underway, according to the Pakistan Airports Authority. The Pakistan Aerospace Council expressed solidarity, stating: "The Pakistan Aerospace Council (PAeC) stands in solidarity with K2 Airways during this difficult time. Our thoughts are with the crew, their families, and all those awaiting updates. We sincerely hope for positive news from the ongoing search efforts."
